News

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2011

As a new venture in 2011, World Land Trust (WLT) signed up to take part in the annual Big Give Christmas Challenge, an online fundraising event which takes place each December.

Firstly, WLT successfully raised £50,000 in pledges from our high donors before the Big Give week and we would like to thank them for their generous support. We then set ourselves the ambitious target of raising £100,000 on the Big Give website in just five days, between the 5 to 9 December, to purchase and protect tropical forest in Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia and Mexico.

If we reached our target of £100,000 then this figure could be doubled through matched funding, provided by the £50,000 already pledged and a further £50,000 potentially available from the Big Give. This would raise a magnificent £200,000 in less than a week.

After the Event

Through the generosity of our supporters during the Big Give Christmas Challenge, WLT raised an impressive £141,644 in just five days, to turn endangered tropical forests into protected nature reserves.

For many of you it was far from easy to donate to WLT during the week, with the Big Give website experiencing technical problems due to the huge volume of traffic. (Read a full report on the problems during the Big Give week). We would like to thank you for patience, persistence and dedication.

Everyone here at WLT has been inspired by your commitment to saving the world’s wild spaces, once again reminding us that we have strong and loyal supporter-base. Without your generosity, hundreds acres of tropical forests and all its wildlife would not be safe. (WLT will shortly announce the number of acres we have saved through the Big Give Christmas Challenge once it has been confirmed by our partner organisations.)

Despite the problems with theChallenge and not quite reaching our ambitious target, we should not underestimate this huge achievement. Worldwide land prices are escalating at an alarming rate; just a few years ago, WLT could fund the purchase of threatened tropical forest in Brazil for £50 an acre. Today, the same land costs about £400 an acre. To successfully save hundreds of acres in just a few days is an accomplishment that will help protect some of the most endangered animals and plants on Earth – forever.

Thank you again for your kind generosity and support. We cannot continue to save the world’s threatened habitats and wildlife without you.